WASHINGTON, DC – Electric Power Supply Association President & CEO John E. Shelk released the following statement in response to today’s filing by FirstEnergy Solutions with the U.S. Department of Energy seeking an unprecedented “emergency order” under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act that would undermine competitors, disregard consumers, and circumvent pending regulatory and legislative proceedings:
“FirstEnergy Solutions’ letter lays a rotten egg when it comes to consumers, competitors and energy policymakers, both federal and state.”
There is no emergency. As PJM has confirmed numerous times, the bulk power system performed well during this past winter and continues to do so today.
FirstEnergy does not speak for its own customers, as strong opposition from their customers to past FirstEnergy bailout attempts clearly shows, much less their attempt to speak for all 65 million customers who depend on PJM. Similarly, FirstEnergy does not speak for all other coal and nuclear asset owners.
FirstEnergy’s letter seeks a do over of the DOE Grid Resilience Pricing Rule that FERC unanimously declined to implement after taking public comments. FirstEnergy did not even seek FERC rehearing of that decision. The matters of which it complains today are pending in FERC’s review of ISO/RTO input on resilience. FirstEnergy should be directing its views to FERC in that proceeding. Similarly, FirstEnergy’s ill-founded and unlawful request seeks to circumvent ongoing legislative discussions in states where it does business.
The Secretary of Energy started an important conversation through the DOE Grid Resilience Rule that led to the ongoing FERC proceedings. Granting FirstEnergy’s request for the Secretary of Energy to force PJM to a negotiating table of FirstEnergy’s making would end any productive conversation.”
Launched over 20 years ago, EPSA is the national trade association representing leading independent power producers and marketers. EPSA members provide reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities using a diverse mix of fuels and technologies. Power supplied on a competitive basis collectively accounts for 40 percent of the U.S. installed generating capacity. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.
